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Open Recommendations

Federal Student Loans: Education Should Enhance Reporting on Direct Loan Performance and Risk
GAO-24-106174
Mar 04, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should enhance Education's reporting on its Direct Loan program performance and risk information. Enhanced reporting should include further reporting of sensitivity analyses and other factors, such as performance information, credit risk concentrations, and administrative risks. (Recommendation 1)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation and stated that the department would assess possible enhancements to reporting on the Direct Loan program performance and risk information. We will monitor the agency's progress.

International Military Students: DOD and State Should Assess Vetting Implementation and Strengthen Information Sharing
GAO-24-106421
Feb 29, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in coordination with the secretaries of the military departments—assess the implementation of vetting procedures for international military students. The assessment should include in-country data collection and the process for sharing information between stakeholders. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in coordination with the secretaries of the military departments—take action to mitigate any ongoing factors affecting the implementation of the vetting procedures as identified in the assessment of vetting implementation. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—clarify roles and responsibilities for sharing information on issues related to international military students. This should include roles and responsibilities for policy updates, data sharing, and analysis. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor—in collaboration with the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy—clarify roles and responsibilities for sharing information on issues related to international military students. This should include roles and responsibilities for policy updates, data sharing, and analysis. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Head Start: Opportunities Exist to Better Align Resources with Child Poverty
GAO-24-106077
Feb 27, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Congress Congress should consider reviewing and revising, as appropriate, statutory provisions governing how annual Head Start funding is allocated to assure that they align with congressional priorities and goals for Head Start. (Matter for Consideration 1)
Open
We will monitor congressional action on this matter.
Congress Congress should consider reviewing and revising, as appropriate, statutory provisions governing the allocation of Head Start and Early Head Start expansion funding to assure that they align with congressional priorities. For example, Congress could clarify the provision governing which states should receive a higher proportion of Head Start expansion funding and the provision governing how Early Head Start expansion funds should be allocated to achieve an "equitable national geographic distribution" of grants, as indicated in law. (Matter for Consideration 2)
Open
We will monitor congressional action on this matter.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct OHS to use its existing grant-making authority to consider the geographic distribution of Head Start resources across communities when awarding competitive grants. (Recommendation 1)
Open
HHS agreed with this recommendation. OHS said it would explore methods to include geographic distribution of existing Head Start services and available measures of need to be considered in the grant award process, within the constraints of its statutory authority. For example, due to statutory provisions governing the distribution of Head Start funds, the agency's authority to distribute funds and award grants is limited by the amount of funding available and the need to ensure that grants stay within the service area and maintain stable funding within states. We will monitor the progress of OHS's efforts to address this recommendation.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct OHS to use the data it already collects to assess relative rates of access to Head Start services and to help identify areas where additional services may be needed. (Recommendation 2)
Open
HHS agreed with this recommendation. OHS said it would explore methods to use data it already collects to help identify areas where additional services may be needed. OSH noted it is committed to using data it already collects to identify communities and geographical areas where additional services may be warranted. This includes data on the geographic location of existing Head Start service locations and the number of Head Start and Early Head Start funded slots at these locations. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

K-12 Education: DOD Has Taken Steps to Support Students Affected by Problematic Sexual Behaviors, but Challenges Remain
GAO-24-106182
Feb 13, 2024
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should direct the DODEA Director to assess the benefits and drawbacks of its current reporting process for incidents of normative sexual behavior among students. As a part of its efforts, DODEA should obtain school administrators' feedback on the amount of time spent investigating and reporting normative incidents, and whether there are opportunities to reduce reporting burden or stigma for these incidents. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOD agreed with this recommendation. DOD said it takes its responsibility to protect students from all unwanted sexual behaviors (normative or not) seriously and noted that it would continue to engage with stakeholders to refine its approach to monitoring for all inappropriate student sexual behaviors. We will monitor the progress of the Department's efforts to address this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should direct the Military Community Advocacy Directorate to monitor the consistency with which DODEA is included on the multidisciplinary team, and take further actions, as needed, to improve participation. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DOD agreed with this recommendation but did not identify plans to address it. We will monitor any DOD efforts to implement this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should direct the Military Community Advocacy Directorate to monitor the results of its efforts to assure that FAP clinicians have the training needed to treat students exhibiting problematic sexual behavior and take additional actions, as needed, to close gaps in clinical expertise. This assessment could leverage data from the Military Community Advocacy Directorate's new case management system. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOD agreed with this recommendation but did not identify plans to address it. We will monitor any DOD efforts to implement this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should direct the Military Community Advocacy Directorate to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of its existing and planned strategies to systematically address low participation in FAP support services. (Recommendation 4)
Open
DOD agreed with this recommendation but did not identify plans to address it. We will monitor any DOD efforts to implement this recommendation.
Department of Defense The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should direct the Military Community Advocacy Directorate to assess whether the current response policy to incidents of problematic sexual behaviors involving civilian-dependent students is sufficient to ensure the safety of all DODEA students and develop a plan to bridge any gaps. This assessment could include a review of current eligibility policies and identify opportunities to offer clinical support services to all DODEA students. (Recommendation 5)
Open
DOD agreed with this recommendation but did not identify plans to address it. We will monitor any DOD efforts to implement this recommendation.
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